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Why You Should Start Your City Break with a Walking Tour

27 Jul 2017

Flight Centre's Head of Marketing, Sue Johnson, loves a walking tour, and here she tells us why it's the first thing she does on arrival in a new destination...

Flights booked. Hotel arranged. Now it’s time to decide what you’re going to do on your city break. I’ve spent the last two years living and working in London and exploring some of Europe’s best cities with my husband and two kids. My number one tip is to start your city break with a walking tour, and here's why you should too:

Shake off your travel day

Let’s face it… no one likes the travel day you need to go through to get to your holiday. Lots of waiting around, bad food and (if you’re me) bored and cranky kids. In my experience, planning a walking tour for the first day of your break is the perfect way to dust off the travel cobwebs with some exercise, and start your break in good spirits. And, if it’s a private walking tour, you can set the agenda so everyone has something to look forward to. For example, we always ask the guide to include a playground visit or two where possible, so the kids don't feel like they’re missing out.

Get your bearings

What better way to get to know the area around your home away from home? You guide can show you where the best coffee, breakfast or supermarket spots are, and you can get a feel for the neighbourhood. You’ll be surprised how much you can see by wandering around.

Meet some locals and learn a few things

There’s a good chance your guide was either born and raised in the city you’re in or they’ve lived there for a long time. Every guide we’ve ever had has loved their city and a good yarn. They’ll share the stories you won’t read about in a guidebook and give you a local perspective on things. It’s fascinating to hear about what it’s like growing up somewhere like Budapest.

A better view than from a bus

Now, I’m not saying that those hop-on, hop-off buses don’t have their place – in fact they’re brilliant if you want to tick off a lot of sights in a hurry. But you can’t beat the views you'll get by simply walking from place to place. After all, it’s all about the journey, not the destination.